The present invention relates to a method of joining a functional element, having an attachment part, with a metal sheet.
The following discussion of related art is provided to assist the reader in understanding the advantages of the invention, and is not to be construed as an admission that this related art is prior art to this invention.
The manufacture of vehicle bodies and body assemblies involves the use of functional elements for attachment of further components or assemblies. These functional elements are to be joined with metal sheets and may involve rivets, punches, press-in elements, welding elements, friction welding elements or adhesive elements, drilling screws or flow punch screws, etc. Such functional elements have as attachment part for further components either a bolt with external thread or a nut with internal thread. The use of clinch elements or clinch river elements in the form of threaded bolt or nut and joined with a metal sheet by a penetration process (clinching, clinch riveting) is also known in the art.
When such a functional element is positioned at a metal sheet, the position of the functional element has to be checked. This check normally occurs after undergoing the joining process and involves a measurement of the position of the joined functional element with consideration of its positional tolerance. This is time-consuming and increases production costs when joining a metal sheet of a vehicle body with functional elements.
It would therefore be desirable and advantageous to provide an improved method of joining a functional element, having an attachment part, with a metal sheet so as to obviate prior art shortcomings and to enable a quick and simple check as to the correct position of functional elements.